Open Road hires raft of execs

Jason Cassidy named marketing prexy

Marking the first wave of exec hires, Open Road Films, the joint distribution venture between the nation’s two largest exhibs AMC and Regal, has tapped Jason Cassidy to serve as prexy of marketing.

Also joining Open Road are Elliott Kleinberg as general counsel and exec VP of operations and business affairs; Steven Andriuzzo, who’ll fill the role of chief financial officer; and Ben Cotner as senior VP of acquisitions.

New hires will serve under Open Road CEO Tom Ortenberg, who was tapped to head the company when AMC and Regal announced the company’s formation in early March.

“This group of talented professionals brings an impressive breadth of experience to our new venture and will allow us to hit the ground running,” Ortenberg said in a statement.

Open Road plans to releaseeight to 10 mid-range budgeted films per year.

Cassidy most recently served as exec VP of worldwide marketing at Miramax, while Kleinberg came from United Artists, where he was COO managing daily operations for the company.

Andriuzzo and Cotner both came from Paramount where they served similar roles to their new gigs at Open Road. Andriuzzo was senior VP of planning and finance for Par’s domestic home entertainment division; Cotner, exec director of acquisitions and co-productions at Paramount Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group.